Battle of the Pick-Up Lines
by animomma
Summary: Natsu and Lucy duke it out to see who can come up with the best pick-up line.
1. Chapter 1

"What a loser."

Lucy looked up from the book she was reading and raised an eyebrow at her teammate. "Who?" she asked, trying to feign interest long enough for him to stop talking so she could read in peace.

Natsu snorted. "That guy in your book. What kind of loser actually talks like that? 'I see heaven every time I look into your blue eyes.' Really?"

Flushing red, Lucy snapped her book shut and clutched it protectively to her chest. "Well, I think it's sweet! And who asked you to read my book over my shoulder, anyway?"

Unperturbed, he shrugged. "I was bored. Anyway, what kind of pick up line is that, seriously? Could he be any more sappy?"

"And what exactly do you want him to say? He's trying to convey his feelings to his love interest."

Scratching his head, Natsu replied, "I dunno, but aren't pick up lines supposed to be funny? That one's pretty lame."

Glaring at him, Lucy shot back, "Oh, and I suppose you think you could do better?"

He looked at her blankly for a moment, and Lucy could have sworn she could hear the gears in his head turning. Then a big smirk plastered itself on his face, and he asked mischievously, "What about you? You're a writer, don't you think you could come up with a better pick up line?"

Lucy spluttered, "What? Why would I want to do that?"

The grin widened. "Oh, are you saying you couldn't?"

The pit of Lucy's stomach sparked to life with indignant anger, and she snapped back, "I didn't say that! Of course I could write a good pick up line!"

Natsu's eyes sparkled with something like triumph, and he leaned forward, propping his chin up on one hand. "And I'm pretty sure I can, too. At least a pick up line better than that book. So how about it? Should we have a contest?"

Too late, Lucy realized she had been pulled into a trap. But the simmering outrage inside her pushed her forward. "What kind of contest?" she asked warily.

"We'll set some kind of time limit. A week, let's say. You can say as many pick up lines as you want to the other person. And whoever comes up with the best one is the winner."

Despite herself, Lucy asked, "What does the winner get?"

"Hmm." Natsu looked thoughtful for a moment. "How about the winner gets to make the loser do one thing, whatever they want?"

Warily, she regarded her partner. "Anything?"

The corner of Natsu's mouth turned up. "Yeah, anything. You could make me use the door to your house forever if you wanted. Or, you know, whatever."

The possibilities began turning over in Lucy's head. He was right. She could even permanently reclaim the use of her bed from her two friends. She smiled a little. This was starting to sound like a good idea. "Oh, wait," she said. "How are we going to decide who has the better pick up line?"

Natsu stared at her blankly. "Whaddya mean? Can't we just decide at the end of the week?"

She sighed. This man was so simple-minded sometimes. "We can't do that, what if we disagree about which one is the best?"

He folded his arms behind his head. "Well, if that happens, then we can ask someone else's opinion. Come on, Luce, you're just dragging your feet now. What, are you scared you won't be able to beat me?"

She puffed her cheeks up at him. "No way! I'll beat you for sure!"

He laughed. "That sounds to me like we have a deal!"

Sticking out her hand resolutely, Lucy nodded. "We sure do!"

Grinning, Natsu clasped her hand, and Lucy couldn't help but notice how warm it felt. "Deal!" he echoed.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy was bent over a sheet of paper, intent on her work, when she was snapped out of her concentration by a voice calling her name. "Hey, Lucy!"

She looked up and saw Natsu leaning on the table next to her, looming over her a bit. She jumped, and scolded him, "Natsu, you scared me! What do you want?"

His face nearly split in half with his grin as he said, "Hey, Luce, are you a celestial mage?"

She looked at him skeptically. Was he ok? "Uh, yeah, you know I am."

Somehow, his grin managed to get even bigger. "I thought so! Because you have the key to my heart."

Dumbstruck, she stared up at him.

"Well? How was that one?" he asked.

Oh. Right. The game. Even though it was what she had been working on when he came over, the shock of hearing her best friend say something like that had made her forget about it entirely. Rallying herself, she decided that she couldn't let him get a head start. Glancing quickly at her list, she looked back up at him, squared her shoulders, and said, "Well, you must be a fire wizard because you're so hot."

His eyes widened a little, and Lucy started to wonder if she had won already. Then his eyes crinkled up, and he laughed heartily. "Hahaha, Luce, that's great! 'You're so hot,' what kind of line is that? Haha, yours is definitely funnier than mine!"

She glared at him. "You don't have to laugh so much! It's not supposed to be that funny!"

He tipped his head at her. "Huh? But I thought the point of pick-up lines was supposed to be saying something funny."

Lucy sighed. "No, that's not the point. You're supposed to try to, you know, _pick up_ the other person. Like get them to go on a date with you. The main point isn't to be funny. Yeah, they can be funny, if they get the job done, but you're kinda missing the point here."

For a long moment, he stared at her, confusion evident on his face. "Then am I not supposed to be making you laugh?"

Exasperated, Lucy replied, "No, you can, but that's not the main purpose. You're supposed to be getting me to go on a date with you. You know, in theory," she added hastily.

Natsu seemed to process this for a moment. Then his face lit up, and he leaned forward over her and said, "How about this, then. Can I follow you home?"

Despite herself, Lucy snorted. "Why would you bother asking that, you always do anyway."

Her partner grinned. "Oh, good. Because people always say to follow your dreams."

She blinked at him, and he chuckled. "How was that, Luce?" he asked.

A giggle escaped Lucy's lips before she could stop it. "I guess that one was pretty good," she admitted.

Natsu's eyes crinkled up as he smiled more widely. "I'm definitely gonna win this!"

Lucy's fighting spirit crackled, and she allowed a smile of her own as she shot back, "Oh, we'll just see about that! I'm not done yet!" With renewed vigor, she turned back to her list, furiously scribbling anything she could think of that might make a good pick-up line. Unnoticed, her dragon slayer settled onto the bench next to her, and quietly watched her work.


	3. Chapter 3

Some time later, Lucy was snapped out of her thoughts by a plate plunking down on the table next to her. Startled, she looked up. Natsu was retaking his seat next to her, holding his own plate of food. Her plate had a sandwich, and when she saw it, she suddenly realized that she was very hungry. Pushing her paper aside, she pulled the sandwich in front of her. "Thanks, Natsu," she said simply, feeling a warmth in her stomach that already was starting to allay her hunger.

"No problem," he answered around a mouthful of his own food. He managed to swallow his enormous bite, and asked, "Are you tired?"

Taking stock of herself, Lucy answered, "Yeah, I guess I am a bit tired." She smiled a little at him. He sure was being nice to her.

A grin split Natsu's face as he replied, "I'm not surprised, you've been running through my head all day." He took another huge bite, and somehow the gesture was almost triumphant.

Lucy groaned. She should have known better than to think he was actually being attentive towards her. Of course it had to do with the pick-up line contest. She picked up her sandwich, and looked down at it thoughtfully. Well, maybe not. At least he hadn't been using the sandwich to tell her a pick-up line. Maybe he was actually just taking care of her. She smiled a small, private smile, and began to eat. Even if he was just being nice, she could still counterattack.

"Hey, Natsu, you'd better watch out. You're being so sweet to me, you're going to give me cavities." She peeked at him out of the side of her eyes to gauge his reaction.

He snorted. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I didn't get you dessert, then."

Although her mouth was full and she couldn't retort, she still glared at her partner. How was he staying a step ahead of her so easily?

He just chuckled and said, "Anyway, Luce, if you're up for it, I have a job for us to go on." He leaned over and scrutinized her. "That is, if you're actually not too tired."

Swallowing, she replied, "No, it's ok, Natsu. I'm not really all that tired. How long is the job going to take?"

Pulling out a paper, he looked it over and said, "I'm not sure, but it looks like we can take care of it pretty quickly. It's a request from a store in town."

Shoving the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth, Lucy mumbled around it, "All right, what are we waiting for, then? Is Happy around?"

Natsu shook his head, standing up from his own empty plate. "Nah, he went on a job with Wendy and Carla. They needed some extra flying power." Reaching his hand out with a devilish grin, he said, "Hey, your hand looks heavy. Can I hold it for you?"

Rolling her eyes, Lucy nevertheless placed her hand in his and hauled herself to her feet. Once standing, she tried to disentangle her hand, but Natsu gripped it tighter. "I said I'd hold it for you, didn't I?" He smiled at her in such a winning way that Lucy's heart flipped over. As he pulled her out of the guild hall, she frowned slightly. Since when did Natsu make her heart flip?


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Lucy set to work, scratching away at her list in the same place at the guild. The mission had proved to be fairly uneventful, but Natsu had managed to squeeze in pick-up lines whenever they were alone and within earshot, culminating in him asking if she saw any Rune Knights around, because he was going to steal her heart. The worst part about it had been that, when he'd said that line to her, her traitorous heart had indeed thumped, as if it was agreeing that it was going to be stolen.

She couldn't figure out why she was having these reactions to her partner. So what if he was saying all sorts of cheesy stuff to her? That shouldn't be affecting her.

And to make it all worse, the only semi-decent line she'd been able to get back at him had been, "Was that an earthquake, or did you just rock my world?" And, honestly, she wasn't even sure whether or not that was true anymore.

Groaning loudly, she plopped her head down onto her folded arms. Even though she had come to the guild early to work on some better lines, she wasn't really making much headway.

A voice behind her startled her. "Hey, Luce, you ok?"

Jumping, she whipped around and saw Natsu standing behind her. "Oh, it's you. You scared me. Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

Casually, he said, "Oh, I was just wondering if it hurt."

Confused, she asked, "If what hurt?"

"When you fell from heaven."

She stared at him, and a smile slipped out in spite of herself. "I think you might have me confused with Angel."

Looking her up and down with exaggerated care, Natsu propped his thumb and forefinger on his chin. "Hmm, maybe I do," he agreed. "What's your name again?"

She laughed, and decided to play along, interested to see where his antics were going. "Lucy, you weirdo."

"Lucy, huh?" He dropped his hand and smiled. "Can I just call you mine?"

She laughed, feeling a little lighter. She decided to try one of her own pick-up lines. Fanning herself, she said, "Woo, slow down there a little, it's getting hot in here." Squinting at him, she asked, "Or is that just you?"

Grinning in reply, he said, "It must be, because you've got me all fired up!"

"What are you two idiots going on about?" a gruff voice interrupted.

Startled, Lucy looked around and noticed Gajeel sitting at the table behind them, giving them an odd look. She had been getting so into their battle, she had forgotten that they were in a fairly public place. Blushing, she opened her mouth to reply, but her idiot partner beat her to it.

"Oh, I'm trying to pick up Lucy."

Gajeel's eyes widened visibly. "What's that now, Salamander? Finally got the balls to ask out Bunny Girl?"

Lucy's open mouth gaped now. What? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Natsu took advantage of her being dumbstruck and barreled on with his explanation. "Nah, not like that, man. We're having a battle!"

Gajeel took a drink out of the mug in front of him. "Don't look like much of a fight to me," he said.

Lucy struggled to find her voice before Natsu could make the situation worse. "No, no, Gajeel, he's saying it all wrong. We're having a pick-up line fight. We're each trying to come up with the best pick-up line within a week. Well, six days now, I guess, since yesterday was the first day. Anyway, that's what we were doing, nothing weird, just…" realizing she was beginning to babble out of nerves, she snapped her mouth shut, and prayed that her idiot dragon slayer wouldn't complicate her explanation any further.

Gajeel raised one eyebrow, and looked at both of them in turn. "Yeah, is that what's going on? Because it sounded pretty weird."

Lucy's hopes of Natsu shutting up evaporated as he asked, "You mean you never used a pick-up line on Levy?"

Sputtering into his mug, Gajeel set it down with a thunk and coughed heartily. "Nah, I never needed to do any of that shit," he growled.

"Huh. Don't you think she'd like it, though?" Natsu asked.

Cheeks starting to stain red, Gajeel turned away and muttered, "I don't see why she would."

"Why not? Girls like stuff like that, don't they?"

Abruptly, Gajeel stood up. "I don't know, Salamander!" he snapped. "Anyway, can you two keep your creepy little game to yourselves from now on?" He stormed off.

Watching him go, Natsu grumbled, "What's his deal?"

Lucy growled, "He was embarrassed, Natsu! You didn't have to keep pushing him like that! Asking what he says to Levy, of course you're going to make him uncomfortable!"

Turning to her and tipping his head in a way that Lucy found entirely too adorable, he asked, "Why? The guys always ask him about Levy, and we do the same to any other guys with girlfriends."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Lucy tried to explain to this idiot why he should have common courtesy. "Because, Natsu, people don't generally like others prying into their relationships. I guess it might be different when it's with just you boys in a group, but not with me or other people around."

Natsu stared at her for a second, and then said flatly, "I still don't see what the big deal is. But I guess," he continued, "I'll try to stop, if you really feel that strongly about it."

"Thanks, Natsu," Lucy smiled at him, hoping that he'd remember his promise and avoid making Levy feel uncomfortable in the future.

He stretched his arms up languidly and said, "Anyway, Luce, wanna take a job today? Happy still won't be back for at least a few more days, so we might as well do some work, huh?"

She squinted at him. "Depends. How many more pick-up lines do you plan to use on me today?"

"Ohhh, scared already, are ya?"

"No way!" she protested, standing up abruptly. "Come on, let's go! Bring it on, fire brain!"

Natsu laughed at her. "That line needs work. But at least you're cute."

Lucy sputtered, "What? Well, that pick-up line sucked, too!"

"That wasn't a line, I was just saying you're cute. Now come on, let's go pick a job!" Turning around, he left Lucy to follow after him, confused and blushing scarlet.


	5. Chapter 5

The job they settled on involved retrieving an item for a client, and ended up taking a few days total. It wasn't overly complicated…at least on the magic side of things. Seeing as it was just the two of them, Lucy was subjected to an almost endless volley of pick-up lines over the course of the three days, and was able to counteract them with a disappointingly small amount of her own. At the end of the mission, she had grudgingly agreed that Natsu was currently winning when he had pulled out, "I value my breath, so can you stop taking it away every time I see you?" This had only served to fuel her determination to win, though. Her pride as a writer was rearing up, and she was resolved to prove herself. It hadn't occurred to her that not being able to write a decent pick-up line didn't actually have much bearing on her ability as a serious writer.

The morning of the day after they returned found her at a table in the guild hall, scribbling furiously on a sheet of paper, until her eyes were covered from behind by rough hands that she recognized immediately by feel.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" she sighed.

She heard the grin in his voice as he asked, "What do you see?"

She could feel the pick-up line coming, but answered anyway. "Nothing right now. Why?"

"Well, that's my life without you."

Her shoulders slumped as she groaned, and the hands were dropped from her eyes. She tipped her head backwards, and it bumped gently against her partner's stomach. Her heart beat a bit faster at their proximity, but she willed it to be quiet and rested her head comfortably against him as she demanded, "Weren't these last couple days enough for you to do your pick-up lines?"

He smiled down at her, and she noted that his cheeks were tinged with pink. "Nah, it's not enough until I win the contest in a couple days." She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off. "Hey, now that I can see your face up close, I have a question. Was your dad a thief? Because someone stole the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes."

She saw her opening. Letting a smirk play over her lips, she asked, "Are you sure about that? Because I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with my eyes. I can't take them off of you."

Natsu laughed. "That's probably because your face is so close to me, weirdo. Isn't that hurting your neck bending it back like that?"

Realizing he was right, Lucy winced as she said, "Yeah, I guess it does," and attempted to lever it back upright. As she was struggling, she felt a hand cup itself gently on the back of her head and help lift it up.

"Thanks," she mumbled, ducking down her flushed face as she spoke.

Sliding onto the bench next to hear, Natsu asked, "Hey, Lucy, you see my friend over there?" She followed his finger and saw that he was indicating Gray. "Who, Gray?" she asked incredulously, uncertain whether he was actually referring to the ice wizard as his friend.

"Yeah, him. He wants to know if you think I'm cute," Natsu finished, smirking at her confusion.

Lucy groaned and plopped her head down onto her arms. She really should start seeing his pick-up lines coming.

A finger poked her arm. "Hey, Luce."

She groaned. "Whaaat?"

Apparently ignoring her blatant annoyance, Natsu said, "Can you name all 21 letters of the alphabet?"

Although she was suspicious, Lucy raised her head and looked at her partner quizzically. "21 letters? Don't you mean 26?"

"Oh, that's right, there are 26 letters! I must have forgotte T!"

Lucy just stared at him for a second, decided that it wasn't worth trying to talk to him any longer, and plunked her head back down onto the table.

"Aw, come on, Luce." He poked her arm again, but she ignored him this time. "Lucyyy. Luuucyyyy. I know you can hear me. Don't ignore me. Come onnnn, Luce," he cajoled, continuing to poke her forearm.

She mumbled at the table, "What, so you can use more pick-up lines on me? No thanks, I'll stay down here. Besides, I thought you were going to stop doing that in the guild."

He paused. "Oh. I guess I did say that. Well, how about this then, wanna go get dinner with me tonight?"

Lucy jerked her head up. "What?"

"Yeah, that way nobody from the guild will be around, and then you can't get mad at me for being the best at pick-up lines." He grinned at her, pleased with his own idea.

"Oh." Lucy felt like an idiot for being disappointed. She had thought he meant they should go on a date. She shook her head. Wait, why was she disappointed that it wasn't a date? Realizing Natsu was still waiting for an answer, she rallied herself to reply, "Sure, I guess that's fine. Where should we meet?"

"I'll come pick you up. How about 7?"

She nodded. "Sure, that's fine." Standing up abruptly, she announced, "If that's all you need, then, I'm going to go home. It will be quieter there, and I can actually get some work done." Gathering up her papers, she turned around and said without looking at him, "See you later, Natsu." She then left the guild hall quickly, telling herself that she wasn't running away from her feelings.


	6. Chapter 6

Later that night, Lucy stood in front of her mirror, examining her appearance critically. She sighed, and yanked off the dress she was wearing. Nothing looked right on her at all. She had gone through most of her extensive wardrobe already, but none of her clothes said the right thing; that she was most definitely _not_ on a date with her best friend, unless he wanted it to be a date, and then of course it was a date, and she looked just the right amount of cute and sexy without looking slutty, but while still being appealing. Flopping back onto her bed, she sighed. Why was she even thinking about Natsu so much lately? Had he really gotten into her head that much with his stupid pick-up lines? Was her heart really so shallow that it would be swayed by some joking words from a friend? Or was there something more to her feelings for the dragon slayer? She had never really thought about him in a romantic light before, but there was no denying that they had compatibility, and she couldn't think of anyone else she would be more comfortable with in a relationship. But was that really a good basis for dating someone?

Sitting up on the bed, she slapped her cheeks. She simply had to take this chance to figure out her feelings for her friend. It was the perfect setting. She could pretty much say whatever she wanted and pass it off as a pick-up line if he didn't respond positively to it. Or she could choose to just let herself observe her own feelings for Natsu. Either way, sitting on her bed half-naked wasn't going to help anything. Feeling motivated, she got up to shift through her closet for the umpteenth time.

Her determination led her to finally pick an outfit for the evening. She settled on a short red dress with a deep cut V-neck halter top, and an equally low back. Her hair got swept up into a carefully messy bun, with just the right amount of curly wisps straying from it. She finished off the look with gold hoop earrings and gold bangles, and a pair of red heels. She found a small clutch that she could put her key pouch and a few essentials in, and was scrutinizing the impact of the outfit in the mirror when she heard a knock on her door.

Confused, she went to answer it. Who would be coming over now?

She opened the door to find Natsu standing in the doorway. She was almost as startled to see him as she was to see him wearing a smart black suit jacket over a crimson shirt, paired with black pants and black shoes. She stared at him for a long moment, not noticing that he was also staring. She managed to gather herself and ask, "Why did you come to the door?"

He smiled at her. "I don't know, it just felt more like a real date this way." Lucy's heart skipped a beat as he glanced past her into her apartment. "Geez, Luce, what exploded in there?"

Hurriedly, she stepped out onto the stoop and shut the door behind her. "Nothing, I was just looking for something to wear. Let's get going." She walked down the steps, hoping Natsu would follow her.

Thankfully, he trotted down the steps and caught up with her, grabbing her gently by her arm. "Hey, do you even know where we're going?"

Bashfully, she admitted, "No, I guess not. I'll follow you." She stopped so he could walk in front of her.

Instead, he shifted his grip to her hand and said, "Nah, we'll walk together like we always do." He began steering them down the street as Lucy's heart skipped a few more beats. As they walked, Natsu said without looking at her, "You look really nice."

Lucy ducked her head down. "Yeah?"

He nodded, still not looking at her. "Yeah. You're so beautiful, you made me forget my pick-up line."

She stared at the back of his head, trying to figure out if he was serious or not. "Was…that a pick-up line?" she asked uncertainly.

He turned around, his grin answering her question. "Wasn't that pretty good?" he asked with satisfaction.

"Yeah, it was pretty good," she answered flatly. "That might be the winner so far." Despite the vague disappointment on her tongue, she decided to return his dubious compliment. "You look really nice, too."

His smile curled up evilly at the corners. "Yeah? So do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?"

Despite how lame this was, Lucy laughed out loud. "You dork, this isn't the first time I've seen you."

"Yeah, I know. The first time you saw me, I helped snap you out of that love charm, remember?"

She pondered this. "Yeah, I guess you did." She fell silent, remembering that she had been reading about charm magic recently. What had it said about breaking the spell? If you saw a particular person, it would break naturally…

Her thoughts were interrupted by her boisterous partner. "I guess that was just fate, huh Luce?" His wide grin banished the rest of her musings.

She smiled back. "Yeah, I guess so. Hey, do you have a band aid?"

He looked at her questioningly. "No, why? You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just scraped my knee falling for you."

He stared at her for a second, then gave a little snort of laughter. "That was pretty decent."

She pumped a fist into the air. "Yeah it was! I'm definitely going to win this contest tonight!"

"Hey, don't count me out! I'm winning right now, and besides, I'm getting all fired up!" Natsu snorted out a jet of smoke.

She laughed. "Calm down there, Natsu, I don't think the restaurant will appreciate you burning their building down because of a silly contest."

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I'll try to keep it down." He turned them around a corner and pointed. "And look, we're here!"

Following his finger, she looked up. Her eyes widened as she said, "It is really ok to come here? Am I dressed well enough?" She reached up and patted her hair.

Natsu squeezed her hand, reminding her that they were still linked together. "You're just fine. You are absolutely gorgeous, and that's the least interesting thing about you." She looked at him, startled, and he winked. She let out a sigh of defeat as he continued, "Besides, I figured there wasn't much of a chance of running into anyone from the guild in a fancy place like this. So you can't complain about people overhearing us."

She had to admit he was right. Looking up at the sign again, she shifted her hand out of his grip and looped it through his arm instead. "Well, I guess there's no helping it, then," she said in what she hoped was a sedate voice. "Let's go in."

With a chuckle, Natsu led them into the building, and managed to navigate a table for them with surprisingly passable etiquette. They were seated and given menus, and left to look them over.

As she was opening hers, Natsu leaned across the table and said to her conspiratorially, "Hey, Luce, you know what's on this menu?"

Warily, she asked, "No, what?"

"Me 'n' u!" he responded, chortling at his own joke. Lucy chose to not reply, simply rolling her eyes and glancing at her own menu.

She was saved by their waiter bringing water. They gave him their orders, Lucy hurriedly finding a dish she wanted so she could settle in and focus on her date-that-maybe-wasn't-a-date.

After the waiter had cleared away their menus and left, Natsu looked across the table at her and spoke before she could. "So, Lucy, do you want to see a beautiful person?"

Sipping her water, Lucy decided that this was fine. Since he seemed determined to attack, she'd let him say what he wanted to, and try to figure out how she felt about it. Having come to this decision, she returned his impish gaze coolly and said nonchalantly, "Sure."

Reaching into the inner pocket of his coat, Natsu rummaged around in it. Lucy was impressed that he even knew his coat had that pocket. He found what he was looking for and pulled it out, holding it up for her to see.

Lucy peered at the object in his hands, and saw a reflection of herself. "It's a mirror," she stated.

"Yep!"

"Because I'm the beautiful person," she sighed.

Tucking the mirror back into his pocket, Natsu settled back into his seat and replied, "Well, yeah. You look beautiful today, just like every other day."

There was a definite change in her pulse when he said that. Embarrassed despite herself, Lucy dipped her head down and muttered at the tablecloth, "I don't think I'm all that pretty."

Natsu snorted, and she looked up at the sound. "Show me a guy who doesn't think you're beautiful, and I'll show you a guy who can't see."

Yep, she was undeniably affected by his words. In a desperate effort to distract the conversation away from her, she forced herself to look at her partner and say, "You look really nice tonight, too."

Leaning forward with a twinkle in his eye that Lucy was beginning to know all too well, he said, "Yeah? It's a nice shirt, isn't it? You wanna feel it?"

Blushing, Lucy managed to stammer, "Uh, s-sure?" Tentatively, she reached out and rubbed the material between her fingertips, dropping it quickly.

"You know what it's made of?" Natsu asked.

"No, what?" Lucy braced herself for the end of the pick-up line she knew was coming.

"Boyfriend material," he chuckled.

The word made her stomach flip over. Trying to ignore it, Lucy picked up her water and sipped it to give herself time to gather her emotions and calm her pounding heart. This was going to be a long evening.

Especially because she was pretty sure now that she was in love with her best friend.


	7. Chapter 7

Lucy's intuition proved correct. The more they talked, the more she was certain that she really was in love with Natsu. The rest of the evening dragged on with the weight of her realization hanging over her head, tinting every joking line he said to her. He called her beautiful so many times, Lucy wasn't sure if she was going to survive. Somehow, though, she made it through dinner without her heart bursting out of her chest, and they left the restaurant, walking at a leisurely pace back to Lucy's apartment.

As they started down the darkened street, Natsu said, "Hey, can I see your hand for a minute?"

Dubiously, Lucy replied, "Sure?" Hesitantly, she held out her hand.

"Thanks." Catching her hand up in his, Natsu entwined their fingers together and grinned.

Lucy's heart began beating at a breakneck speed. She covered for her embarrassment by muttering, "Weirdo," under her breath.

Her partner gave her a lopsided smile. "You're just jealous you didn't think of it first," he retorted.

She looked away. He was getting a little too close to the truth for her comfort level. Hurriedly, she decided to interject her own pick-up line to hopefully regain some semblance of control over her emotions.

"Hey, Natsu, if you were a library book, I'd check you out."

He snorted. "What the heck, Lucy, that's so lame."

She felt her cheeks flush as she protested, "Well, excuse me for being lame! I thought you were the one who said the point of pick-up lines was to be lame!"

"No, I said it was to be funny. That one was just sad," he responded, still chortling a little.

Annoyed, she yanked her hand out of his and folded her arms across her chest. How was it he could so easily send her spiraling into a fit over his words, but all she got in response to her lines was ridicule? Did he just…not feel anything for her?

This action seemed to get his attention where her words had failed. "Hey, don't get mad. I'm sorry I laughed at your pick-up line. I just thought it was funny, that's all."

"You're not helping yourself out here," she growled.

"Aww, come on, Luce, I said I'm sorry." He poked her upper arm gently. "Come on, don't be mad at me," he cajoled, poking her again.

She glared at him, and he grinned in response. "There, at least you looked at me." Lucy sputtered as he said, "Now can you stop being mad at me? We were having so much fun."

Sighing, she uncrossed her arms and allowed her feelings to get the better of her. "Fine, whatever, Natsu."

His grin widened. "Good. Now, here, can you hold this for me for a sec?" He held up his hand, loosely clenched in a fist.

She looked at him suspiciously. "What is it?" she asked warily.

"It's nothing bad, come on, just take it."

Despite her doubt, the deeply-engrained trust in him won out, and she hesitantly lifted up her hand to take whatever he was trying to give her. But instead of receiving something wet or slimy, as she had feared, Natsu simply placed his hand on her palm, unrolled it, and latched it around hers, so they were once again holding hands.

It took Lucy a moment to realize what he had done. She felt impressed despite herself. "That was pretty smooth," she admitted.

He laughed. "Glad you think so."

Hurriedly, she added, "It doesn't count as a pick-up line, though."

His eyes flicked over sideways to her, then back forward again. "That's ok, I'm still winning anyway."

"Ah, that's right, since I'm so beautiful you forgot your pick-up line." Lucy tried desperately to fight the rising nerves that came from holding his hand, hoping that her palm wasn't getting sweaty. She almost missed Natsu muttering something under his breath. "What was that?" she asked.

He looked up at her, with his usual carefree smile. "Nothing, Luce. Anyway, we're back at your house."

Looking up, she noticed that he was right. She'd been so focused on controlling her responses to him that she hadn't noticed their surroundings. She turned to Natsu, almost relieved to be getting away from him and these confusing feelings. "I guess we are. Thanks for dinner. Good night, Natsu." She turned towards her door, and put a foot on the first step, but was stopped short by the dragon slayer's grip on her hand. Confused, she turned around and tried awkwardly to wriggle her hand out of his.

He seemed to not notice her struggle, stepping closer to her so that they were mere inches away from each other. She stopped tugging, instead becoming much too aware of the short distance between them. Then, Natsu leaned forward just a little, and suddenly their mouths were almost touching.

A small gasp escaped from Lucy, and she jerked back inadvertently. A shadow passed over Natsu's face, so fleeting she wasn't even sure it was really there, because the next moment he was all smiles. "Good night, Lucy," he said simply. Dropping her hand, he whirled around quickly and strode off into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Lucy stared after him for a long moment, then slowly turned around and entered her apartment. Once inside, she kicked off her shoes, dropped her purse, and shuffled over to her bed, flopping down onto it face first. What the hell had that been about? It had felt for a moment like he was going to kiss her, and then he suddenly backed off. Was it because she had pulled away? She kicked her feet angrily against the comforter. Why had she done that? Sure, it was a new and kind of scary experience to think about kissing Natsu, but if she really did love him, shouldn't that be what she wanted? Or maybe she had been mistaken about thinking she loved him.

She mulled over that thought, considering all the evidence. She trusted him absolutely, and was always happy when he was around. She hated being apart from him, like when he had gone on his training journey for a year. She had yearned for him from the core of her soul, and when they had been reunited, she had secretly vowed to herself to never let him leave without her again.

And since that time, her feelings of attachment to him had only strengthened. She had known that, but had never really stopped to think what those feelings might mean. In a way, she supposed she was glad that Natsu had proposed this ridiculous contest, because hearing him say romantic things to her had helped clarify her emotions.

She couldn't be mistaken. She really did love him.

Sighing, she flopped over onto her back. It was just nerve-wracking, thinking about how their relationship would change after a kiss. If, in fact, that had been what Natsu had been trying to do. She might have just read her own emotions into it. She didn't even know for sure how he felt about her. He certainly was dense when it came to others' feelings. Sure, he tried, but he just didn't seem to get it most of the time. And he really did seem to be seeing this whole contest as just a game.

And yet…it had seemed like he'd been trying to kiss her.

Rolling onto her side, Lucy grabbed a pillow and buried her face into it, groaning loudly. This all was so frustrating. How the hell was she supposed to know what her idiot partner was thinking?

With her thoughts still in a muddle, the exhaustion of the day started to take a toll on her, and she slipped off to sleep.

The next morning when Lucy awoke, the sun was streaming in through her window. She blinked, blearily trying to adjust her eyes to its glaring brightness. She sat up and looked outside, and realized it was probably approaching noon. Rubbing her eyes, she swung her feet onto the floor and sat on the edge of her bed.

Her mind immediately started badgering her with her same worries and doubts from last night. Had Natsu been trying to kiss her? Did he actually have feelings for her, too? Or was she just deluding herself because it's what she wanted to see? Shaking her head hard, she decided that there was only one way to find out. She had to talk to him in person. One way or another, she'd find out how he felt about her, even if she had to use some awful pick-up line.

Before she could lose her determination, she stood up and shrugged out of last night's dress and rummaged around for a new outfit, and hurried to the guild hall in hopes that Natsu would be there.

When she finally arrived, she paused and took a deep, steadying breath before pushing the door open and entering. She scanned the guild for her partner, and easily spotted his distinctive shock of hair, seated at the bar with his back to her. She began to walk over to him, and noticed as she approached that he was sitting next to Lisanna. She hesitated for a second, loath to interrupt their conversation, but she decided the other girl would understand if she asked to talk to Natsu alone for a second. She could also make up something about needing to pick out a job. Resolute, she started forward again, finally getting within hearing range of the two, just catching the end of what Natsu was saying to Lisanna. "…how does it feel to be the most beautiful girl here?"

She ground to a halt in her tracks, then unconsciously began taking steps backwards. She bumped into a table, smacking the backs of her legs against the bench. She barely felt it as she turned and ran out of the guild hall.

Lucy burst out of the doors and pelted down a path leading into the woods. She hardly knew where she was going, and as she ran, she realized that it was because her eyes were fogged with tears. Her feet eventually seemed to decide she had gone far enough, and she collapsed at the base of a tree. Burying her head in her hands, she shook with quiet sobs.

Well, at least that answered all her questions. Natsu obviously didn't feel anything special for her if he was talking to other girls the same way he had talked to her last night. Hearing him call her beautiful so many times had really made her feel special, as if she was the only girl in the world he could see. But that obviously wasn't true. Either he just had been going around complimenting all the women of the guild, or…she forced her mind to complete the thought. Or Natsu was actually in love with Lisanna.

It made sense. They had been childhood friends, after all, and from what Lucy had heard, Natsu had been almost inconsolable when he'd thought Lisanna had died. They had even promised to marry each other when they had been kids. And Lucy wasn't stupid. She had seen Natsu's face when they had gone to Edolas and he had seen Lisanna. Even at the time, she had been pretty sure that it wasn't the face of someone who has merely seen a long-lost friend.

Balling herself up as small as possible, she cried, and willed all of her feelings of love for Natsu to leave her body along with her tears. She had never known that something could hurt this badly.

A voice calling her name brought her back to reality. Snapping her head up, she looked towards the source of the voice that she knew all too well.

Natsu.


	9. Chapter 9

He was running down the path towards her, worry etched into his face. Lucy scrabbled to her feet, her mind panicking. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. What would she even say to him? _Hi, I was crying because I realized I love you, but you don't love me?_ Agitated, she turned and ran off the path, weaving in between the trees as she tried to run away from her pain.

Which proved to be a very stupid thing to do. She'd forgotten that Natsu was a much faster runner than she was, and before she had made it very far into the trees, he had caught up with her. She felt his hand grab her from behind, latching firmly yet gently around her upper arm. Without turning around, she squirmed in his grip, trying desperately to get away before he saw her face.

"Hey, Lucy, it's just me! What are you running from? You ok?"

Recognizing that her struggles were in vain, she stopped trying to break away from him. She hung her head down, keeping her back to the dragon slayer and hoping that he would leave her alone if she didn't respond.

She should have known better. He shook her arm, demanding now. "Hey! What happened? Did someone do something to you?" He growled that last part.

Shaking her head, she tried to respond with a steady voice. "No, Natsu, nobody hurt me. I'm fine."

"Well, you sure don't seem fine. And if you're fine, why were you running away from me?"

Suddenly, a rush of indignation rose up in her. "It's none of your business!" she spat. "Why did you even follow me out here in the first place?"

He didn't answer for a moment. She heard the perplexity in his voice as he answered, "Mira said that you ran out of the guild like you'd seen a ghost, so I came to find you and make sure you were ok. And then you were sitting on the ground when I found you, so I thought maybe you were hurt…"

Lucy snapped at him, "Well, I'm not! Why don't you just leave me and…and go back to Lisanna…" her voice broke, and a sob wracked, unbidden, through her body.

A note of panic seeped into Natsu's voice. "Lucy! Something is definitely wrong!" Using his grip on her arm, he spun her around a little until he could latch his free hand on her other arm, effectively caging her. She dipped her head down, still refusing to look at him, but the tears falling from her face to the ground gave her away. Natsu continued, "And what do you mean by go back to Lisanna? You're not making any sense."

Snuffling, Lucy managed to say, "I heard you talking to her at the guild. I came to find you, and you were sitting with her, and then you…you called her beautiful…" Another ugly, choking sob broke up her words.

"Oh. You heard that, huh?" Natsu's voice sounded sheepish.

"Yeah. So…I mean…if…if you guys are dating, then you don't have to hide it from me."

"Dating? What are you talking about?"

Lucy let out a shuddering sigh. "Well, I mean, I know that you guys kinda promised each other to be together when you were kids."

Cutting her off, Natsu protested, "Slow down there, Lucy! You think me and Lisanna are together?"

"Well, yeah. I know you care about her. And…I mean, people have told me about how you kinda fell apart after you thought she died, and then you were so happy when you found out she was alive…"

She was cut off by Natsu giving her a little shake. "That's enough," he growled. There was so much heat in his voice that Lucy looked up, startled. The expression on his face was as fierce as his tone. Her mouth fell open as he continued, "Yeah, it's true that I took it hard. But I've only ever thought of Lisanna as a friend. I'd feel the same way about any of my friends that I thought had died. You know how I am about my friends."

Flicking her eyes down, Lucy swallowed and forced herself to say what had come to her mind. "Then…were you like that when you thought I had died?"

He snorted, and without meaning to, Lucy looked back up at him. "You remember how I was when you came to stop me. That was more than being upset over a friend."

Her battered heart skipped a beat. "What…what are you trying to say?" she asked slowly.

Sighing, Natsu released his grip on her arms. "I thought that this whole contest would help you see what I feel. But I guess I fucked it up somehow, so I'll just come out and say it." Looking at her square in the eyes, Natsu said in a steady, serious voice, "Lucy, I love you."

She was pretty sure her heart had stopped altogether. "Wh-what?"

"I said I love you."

Her hand groped out in front of her, reaching for something, anything, to ground her to reality. She found it in a fistful of her partner's shirt, and held onto it tightly as she demanded, "Are you sure it's me?"

Natsu looked surprised, and let out a short laugh. "Yeah, weirdo, I'm sure it's you."

"But…but you said to Lisanna earlier…"

"I was testing out a pick-up line. I wanted to make sure that the stuff I said to you was good. And, you know, might hopefully make you want to date me." His face flushed as he said this, but he still looked at her fully in the face, apparently waiting for a reply.

This was all too much for Lucy. "I…but…" She looked into his eyes, trying to regain her sense of security within them. "Really?" she whispered.

Stepping closer to her, Natsu echoed softly, "Really. So, what's your answer?"

This was it. This was her chance to say the words she had been determined to tell him when she left her house this morning. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I…I love you too, Natsu."

For a brief moment, nothing seemed to move. Even the forest paused around them. Then Natsu reached out and grabbed her shoulders, yanking her roughly into him. Startled, she found her face buried into his chest as his elated voice sounded from above her head. "You really mean it, Luce?"

Feeling her face heat up, Lucy nodded, her movement restricted by his arms wrapped around her. They squeezed tightly at her response, and she squealed. Hurriedly, he relaxed his grip, muttering, "Sorry, Luce. I'm just so happy. I never thought you would love me back. I just…really? Someone like you wants to be with me?"

She laughed into him. "Yes, you dummy. I…like I said, I love you." Her words were cut off as Natsu used his grip on her to push her back a little, allowing a breath of air in between their bodies. She looked up at him, wide-eyed, just in time to see his mouth descend down to kiss her.

He kissed her firmly, yet she could feel his desire to cherish her through it. When he broke off from her, she followed his head, trying to chase down his lips with her own. With a growl of primal possession, he moved his face forward to meet her mouth again. This time he wasn't as gentle, kissing her hard. There was little technique, but he more than made up for that with the obvious passion that seeped into her through their joined lips.

Finally, when she thought she was going to fly apart into a million pieces, she pulled back from him, gasping for breath. She stared up at him, panting through her open mouth. He muttered an expletive under his breath and tugged her back into him, crushing her with the force of his hug. She allowed herself to rest against him, enjoying the feeling of safety electrified with new feelings of desire.

"So, Lucy…what are you doing for the rest of your life?"

She buried her face into his chest and groaned. "Not another pick-up line. I thought we were done with those."

"Well, technically, today is the last day. And it wasn't really supposed to be a pick-up line. Actually, none of them were."

She decided that it was good thing he was still holding her and couldn't see her face, since she was pretty sure it was an interesting shade of red by now. Instead, she grumbled, "Well, how do we decide who won the contest then?"

He laughed. "I believe I was in the lead last time I checked."

Pulling back from his grip, Lucy looked up at him in horror. "No, wait! I still have one I've been saving! I was just…too embarrassed to say it to you before." She took a breath, then said, "If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?"

Natsu laughed heartily. "That one's good, Luce, but I still think I won."

Slumping her shoulders in defeat, Lucy admitted, "Yeah, I think so too. So, what do you want to make me do as a prize?"

Reaching out and catching one of her hands, Natsu said in a low voice, "Well, I was going to make you go on a date with me if I won, but it seems like I probably don't need to use it for that now." He grinned, and said, "What about if I make you marry me instead? Because the only thing I want to change about you is your last name."

She gaped at him. "Natsu, don't you think that's taking it a bit fast?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I've loved you for years."

Lucy stared at him. "You…you have?"

"Well, yeah. But I guess I have time to convince you to marry me. How about we start with dating?"

A smile pulled up at her lips, and she nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that."

Laughing, Natsu pecked a quick kiss on her lips and turned around. "Come on, let's get out of this forest, my beautiful girlfriend." He tugged on her hand, and she stumbled forward. He glanced down at her feet, then let go of her hand and knelt down to fumble with her shoe, chiding, "Your shoe strap wasn't latched, Lucy. You have to watch that, I don't want you falling for anyone else."

Looking down at him fondly, Lucy replied, "Hey, it's not my fault I fell in love. You're the one who tripped me."

He stood up abruptly, his face darkened with an emotion she couldn't quite identify, and Lucy realized that they were now very close together. Natsu leaned down and spoke directly into her ear, his voice resonating heat throughout her body. "Do you want to meet my little friend? And I don't mean Happy."

Gasping, she stepped backwards and whacked him on the shoulder. "Natsu! What are you saying!"

His gaze didn't waver from hers. "So is that a no?" he asked, and his voice shot currents through her spine.

She shuddered and looked away. "Well…not here, at least."

Her hand was caught up in his grip again, and he pulled her towards the path. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go to my house."

Protesting, she allowed herself to be pulled behind him, scolding him as he laughed in delight. Despite herself, she smiled at his back as they stumbled down the path through the woods.

She supposed Natsu really had won. He had managed to pick her up, after all.


End file.
